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The House has already hit the road -- gone until September -- so the Senate has the joint to itself. I asked one Senate staffer what the rationale is behind the House taking off a week earlier?"What is this thing you call a ‘rationale?'" he replied.
The Senate will vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor -- the only mystery there is how many deadbeat Republican votes she will pick up along the way.
Today there is debate on the $23.7 billion FY10 Agriculture Appropriations bill-- $2.3 billion more than FY09. CongressDaily reports that the bill provides $124 billion when mandatory spending is taken into account, including $61.4 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). That funding is desperately needed. In April nearly 39 million people received food stamps -- more than 1 in 9 Americans.
The Senate will also take up the Cash for Clunkers program which exhausted its first $1 billion in less than a week. The House voted to extend the program with $2 billion taken from previously approved renewable energy loan guarantees in the stimulus bill. The GOP will (surprise) attempt to filibuster.
Max Baucus and his five friends on the Senate Finance Committee say they need more time to come up with their uninspired and underwhelming health care bill. His Herculean effort to please Chuck Grassley, Mike Enzi, and Olympia Snowe has successfully alienated Democrats on the committee who have been relegated to the sidelines during negotations. (That's good news, maybe the Baucus bill will be scrapped since 3 House committees and the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee are in general agreement on a public option…. Has Baucus made Olbermann's Worst Person in the World list yet?)
Hearings this week…. Senate Banking hears from FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair tomorrow when it looks at streamlining bank supervision. On Wednesday the Committee holds a hearing on proposals for regulation of credit card agencies…. Sheila E. will be in town tomorrow, testifying in support of legislation which would end the royalty exemption for AM and FM radio. Here's hoping for a drum solo…. This morning, Senator Ben Cardin looks at protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay -- the nation's largest estuary….
President Obama will travel to Elkhart, Indiana on Wednesday to talk health care. Hopefully he'll modify his pitch -- less jargon, more urgency.
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The most important part of This Week.....the announcement of the preliminary Unemployment figure for July and the corrected Unemployment number for June.
Well we hit that Magical double-digit for July.....place your bets, ladies and gentlemen!
Posted by Happy at 08/03/2009 @ 09:08am
"Will".............."digits"...................
Posted by Happy at 08/03/2009 @ 09:08am
Sometimes I really, really miss those old "Edit" functions before posting....for those rare times I feel like being `responsible'.....sigh!
Posted by Happy at 08/03/2009 @ 09:11am
"The Senate will vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor -- the only mystery there is how many deadbeat Republican votes she will pick up along the way. "
Mystery, but a telling one, Mr Hayes.
For it will portend how much Republicans fear losing the Middle, women, and Latinos....versus how much they fear losing their HAPPY base.
If just one handful... Snowe, Collins, Graham...they fear the base.
If more than that..especially hard-core conservatives like John Cornyn, Kay Hutchinson, etc.....then we know they think they can take HAPP and his pals for granted.
Which they probably can...they're not going anywhere when there's a "socialist ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT who hates white people" as President.
Posted by Mask at 08/03/2009 @ 09:16am
BTW, apologies to Mr Kaufman.
Posted by Mask at 08/03/2009 @ 10:41am
So the left is claiming that the "Cash for Clunkers" program is a success. How do they judge that? Is a program a success if it runs out of money right away? Can't wait for the "success" on healthcare.
Posted by abell12ct at 08/03/2009 @ 11:24am
"A top White House adviser says he can't rule out a tax on middle-class Americans to pay for President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul.
As a candidate, Obama pledged not to raise taxes for most Americans. But economic adviser Larry Summers says he cannot promise that Obama will stick to that campaign pledge.
Summers says it's too early to tell what will be needed to pay for a broad restructuring of how people receive healthcare.
Summers says controlling healthcare costs will be crucial to reducing the deficit. He says the health of the economy is directly tied to how Americans take care of their own health. "
LIE, LIE, LIE, and that is how the Obamanation that makes desolation and the Demoncrats got into office, so now they are doing what they lied about not doing!'
So now thtat 9,000,000 people are without jobs and unemployment is anywhere from 10% to 20% depending on what state you live in they can't even bring back those jobs or support the businesses that could make them available, but they can line their own pockets and give ownership and bailouts to auto unions and bank who supported them in stealing the 2008 elections!
They promised 3.5 million new jobs, but don't seem to want to do anything about saving the ones lost!
Who is the crackpot genius that gave GM and Chrysler money to make cars and then PAYS the general public $4,500. to BUY those cars and thinks that is advancing economic recovery with just more of future taxpayers futhur taxes and by creating more individual debt that may or may NOT be paid to those making the loans?? Unfortunately most idiots think that is great!
Now they want to increase the national debt $1,000,000,000,000. a year MORE with healthcare benefits! Some fools still support them unwaveringly!!!
Posted by BigPasture at 08/03/2009 @ 11:38am
WINGNUT LIES ABOUT HEALTHCARE BILL
Recently, one of the wingnut commenters on this thread, repeatedly posted false claims about the new healthcare bills in the works -- apparently based on a crazy wingnut mass email.
An independent health care analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan foundation that studies health care reform ... has read and analyzed all the major health proposals, including those of the Republicans, and the foundation provides point-by-point analyses of the plans on its Web site.
"It's awful," she said. "It's flat-out, blatant lies. It's unbelievable to me how they can claim to reference the legislation and then make claims that are blatantly false."
The claim that the bill provides free health care for illegal immigrants is particularly egregious, Tolbert said. "No one's provided with free health care. That's ridiculous," she said.
ALSO: • Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed! FALSE! Section 122 outlines broad categories of benefits that must be included in an essential benefits package. It prohibits cost-sharing for preventive care and limits annual out-of-pocket spending to $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a family, indexed for inflation. It says nothing about rationing or limiting treatment.
• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None. FALSE! Section 142 outlines the duties of the Health Choices commissioner, who is charged with regulating insurers. The commissioner should seek insurers to offer different types of insurance, including basic, enhanced and premium. Individuals will be able to choose among competing insurers who are regulated via the exchange.
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy http://tinyurl.com
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 11:49am
MORE WINGNUT LIES ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM DEBUNKED!
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure! False: Section 113 of the bill requires the Health Choices commissioner to conduct a study to make sure health reform does not unintentionally create incentives for businesses to self-insure or create adverse selection in the risk pools of insured plans. There is no mandated audit.
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed! False: Section 122 outlines broad categories of benefits that must be included in an essential benefits package. It prohibits cost-sharing for preventive care and limits annual out-of-pocket spending to $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a family, indexed for inflation. It says nothing about rationing or limiting treatment.
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process) Barely True: Section 123 establishes a Health Benefits Advisory Committee that makes recommendations on what types of health insurance coverage will be defined as basic, enhanced or premium. The committee will be chaired by the surgeon general, with members appointed by the president, the comptroller general, and representatives of federal agencies. This committee makes recommendations on insurance regulations, so in that sense it does set standards for benefits. But it does not make decisions about treatments for individuals.
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy
http://tinyurl.com
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 11:55am
How do they judge that? Is a program a success if it runs out of money right away? Can't wait for the "success" on healthcare.
Posted by abell12ct at 08/03/2009 @ 11:24am
Are you really clueless? Or do you just pretend to be? The cash for Clunkers is really no different than a tax rebate or writeoff for people who get their old pieces of shit off the road. But is done in a way that also supports our ailing autodealers, and in a manner that people who normally don't do itemized deductions can take advantage of. So therefore the GOP hates it. It is accessible to too many and does not purely benefit the wealthy, well that and it was not their idea so it must be bad.
Abell, the vast majority of government programs do not make money. This program was successful in the sense that people are using it. More people used it than planned for therefore it ran out of money. So the program was too successful. I don't know how you relate that to a proposed healthcare bill, since they are totally unrelated.
Posted by Extraneous at 08/03/2009 @ 11:57am
STILL MORE WINGNUT LIES ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM DEBUNKED:
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free health care services. Pants on Fire! Section 152 includes a generic non-discrimination clause, which says insurers may not discriminate with regard to "personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services." It says nothing about "non-US citizens" or immigrants, legal or otherwise. In fact, the legislation specifically states that undocumented aliens will not be eligible for credits to help them buy health insurance, in Section 246 on page 143.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard. Barely True: Section 163 sets out goals for electronic health records. It says one goal should be real-time confirmation of which services a person qualifies for and how much they will have to pay. That could be achieved by machine-readable beneficiary cards, according to the legislative language. But the legislation does not require the cards.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer. Barely True: Section 163 sets out goals for electronic health records. One of the goals is to include features that "enable electronic funds transfers, in order to allow automated reconciliation" between payment and billing. The legislative summary says the intent in the section is "to adopt standards for typical transactions" between insurance companies and health care providers. The legislation generically describes typical electronic banking transactions and does not outline any special access privileges.
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy
http://tinyurl.com
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 11:57am
DEBUNKED: MULTIPLE WINGNUT LIES ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN). Pants on Fire! Section 164 creates a temporary reinsurance program to help employers or employee associations pay for coverage for workers ages 55 to 64. It does not mention labor unions or community organizer groups, though presumably they could qualify for subsidies like any other employee association that previously offered health insurance. The section's point, however, is to offer subsidies to employer-based insurance programs, not unions or community organizers.
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange. True. Private health care plans must conform to government rules to participate in the exchange, and this page begins an explanation of exchange rules. However, the requirement that insurance companies must conform to is also presented much earlier in the bill. We spotted an earlier reference on page 15, Section 101.
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens. Half True. Section 204 outlines more regulations for health insurance plans in the exchange. One of the requirements is that they provide "culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and health services." Another part of the bill mentions that this includes "effective methods for communicating in plain language." There is no mention of citizenship status.
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:02pm
LYING LIARS AND (STILL MORE) LIES THEY'RE TELLING ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM:
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans). Mostly True. Section 203 sets rules saying that plans must offer basic plans before they can offer plans with extra benefits. These extra benefits are defined as enhanced plans and premium plans. (The unstated assumption here is that enhanced and premium plans will be more profitable for the insurance companies.) But this isn't the page number that requires health plans to participate in the exchange. Technically speaking, private insurance plans are not required to participate. Rather, only insurance sold on the exchange will satisfy the mandate that people have health insurance. In effect, private health plans that want to sell to individuals will have to sell through the exchange, under the terms of the bill.
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan. False. Section 205 says the Health Choices commissioner is charged with publicizing the options on the health care exchange. The legislation says the commissioner "may work with other appropriate entities to facilitate the dissemination of information." The bill does not mention ACORN or Americorps. The bill also says that the commissioner must publicize the "Exchange-participating health benefits plan options," which would include private insurance plans.
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:04pm
"Now they want to increase the national debt $1,000,000,000,000. a year MORE with healthcare benefits! Some fools still support them unwaveringly!!!"----Posted by BigPasture at 08/03/2009 @ 11:38am
So we're doing 42X better than California, aren't we, RIO?
"We know about california and its $42,000,000,000,000. debt caused by its socialist style entitlements!"---Posted by comancheamerican at 03/30/2009 @ 11:01pm
Posted by Mask at 08/03/2009 @ 12:07pm
RAIN IS WET, AND WINGNUTS CONTINUE LYING ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed. Barely True. Section 223 discusses how the government will pay doctors under the public option health insurance; they will pay 5 percent more than Medicare pays. It's true that this section does not set out any sort of judicial review, but it specifically states that health care providers do not have to accept patients under the public option. The bill also says that the Health Choices commissioner has the authority "to correct for payments that are excessive or deficient," taking into account "amounts paid for similar health care providers and services under other Exchange-participating health benefits plans." There may be a broader case to be made that the government can out-compete private insurers through the public option, but this section of the plan doesn't have to do with lawsuits or judicial review.
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:07pm
WHEN WINGNUTS AREN'T LYING OUTRIGHT ABOUT HEALTHCARE, THEY'RE DISTORTING
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages. Barely True. Section 225 discusses payments for physicians who choose to accept the public option insurance. Again, there may be a broader case to be made that the government can out-compete private insurers through the public option, but this section of the plan only applies to payments to doctors for patients who are part of the public option. The government does not set wages for doctors because doctors are free to decline to see the patients.
Page 126 Lines 22-25 - Employers MUST pay for Health Care for part time employees AND their families.
THIS PAGE NUMBER AND REFERENCE IS WRONG. NOT SURE WHAT PAGE THEY ARE REFERENCING. BUT THERE ARE PROVISIONS IN THE HOUSE BILL THAT REQUIRE COVERAGE OF PART TIME EMPLOYEES.
Page 149 Lines 16-24 - ANY Employer with payroll 400k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.
THERE IS AN EMPLOYER MANDATE FOR SMALL EMPLOYERS THAT HAVE MORE THAN 400K IN PAYROLL IN THE HOUSE PLAN BUT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PUBLIC PLAN. THE PUBLIC PLAN IS OPTIONAL.
Page 150 Lines 9-13 - Business with payroll between $251k and $400k who does not provide public option pays 2-6% tax on all payroll.
NO REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC OPTION. WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM?
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/n7v4jy
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:15pm
DID WE MENTION THAT WINGNUTS ARE LYING, A LOT, ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM?
Page 167 Lines 18-23 - Any individual who does not have acceptable Health Care according to the Government20will be taxed 2.5% of income.
THIS IS TRUE. THERE IS AN EMPLOYER MANDATE AND AN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IN THIS BILL. EVERYONE MUST HAVE INSURANCE AND THERE ARE PENALTIES IF THEY DO NOT GET IT. BUT THERE ARE ALSO SUBSIDIES TO HELP THEM PAY FOR IT. IT'S LIKE AUTO INSURANCE. YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT AND YOU PAY FINES IF YOU DON'T GET IT.
Page 170 Lines 1-3 - Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (American Citizens will pay).
ILLEGAL ALIENS WILL NOT BE COVERED. THEREFORE THEY WILL NOT BE PENALIZED. THEY WILL CONTINUE TO GET THEIR CARE IN EMERGENCY ROOMS LIKE THEY DO NOW, WITH THOSE COSTS BEING SHIFTED TO THE REST OF US. Page 195 - Officers & employees of Health Care Administration (Government) will have access to ALL American's finance/personal records.
NOT ALL RECORDS. AND ONLY FOR THAT INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING IF THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES. DO YOU WANT GOVERNMENT PAYING SUBSIDIES FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN AFFORD COVERAGE? PROBABLY NOT.
Page 203 Line 14-15 Health Care - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax". Yes, it says that.
IT DOES. AND IT'S FUNNY. BUT TAX IS A LEGAL TERM UNDER THE IRS RULES AND THIS IS A CLARIFICATION.
MORE:
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:18pm
OKAY, WE'RE ALL TIRED OF THE LIES ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM, BUT WINGNUTS KEEP ON:
Page 239 Line 14-24 - Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, and poor will be affected.
NO. THE LANGUAGE IS NOT VERY CLEAR BUT IT REFERS TO A FEE SCHEDULE, WHICH IS IN PLACE NOW ANYWAY FOR MEDICAID. YOU THINK GOVERNMENT PAYS ANYTHING A PROVIDER CHARGES WITHOUT CHECKING IT?
Page 241 Line 6-8 - All doctors will be paid the same regardless of their specialty.
NO. THIS IS A DISTORTION OF THAT SECTION OF THE BILL. THAT SECTION REFERS ONLY TO EVALUATE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES THAT PHYSICIANS PROVIDE, NOT THEIR PAYMENT FOR TREATMENT OF A MEDICAL CONDITION. AND IT ONLY REFERS TO MEDICARE PAYMENT NOT PAYMENT TO DOCTORS FOR PRIVATE PLANS OR PRIVATE PATIENTS.
Page 253 Line 10-18 - Government sets value of doctors time, professional judgment, etc; literally the value of humans.
THE RVU (RELATIVE VALUE UNIT) IS THE WAY DOCTORS ARE PAID FOR MEDICARE NOW. IT S A COMPLICATE FORMULA. PHYSICIANS ACCEPT IT AND ACTUALLY SOME LIKE IT BECAUSE IT REWARDS THEM FOR TIME SPENT TALKING TO PATIENTS NOT JUST TIME WRITING PRESCRIPTIONS. THIS WHOLE SECTION IS ABOUT PAYMENT FOR MEDICARE. MEDICARE ALREADY USES THESE FORMULAS. IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THIS, WHY DIDN'T YOU SPEAK UP EARLIER WHEN MEDICARE WAS PASSED IN 1965?
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:22pm
HOW CAN YOU TELL A WINGNUT IS LYING ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM? HIS LIPS ARE MOVING.
Page 265 Section 1131 - Government mandates and controls productivity for private Health Care industries.
THIS IS FOR MEDICARE. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE EXCHANGE OR PRIVATE PLANS.
Page 268 Section 1141 - Government regulates rental and purchase of power driven wheelchairs.
THIS IS ABOUT MEDICARE. GOVERNMENT ALREADY DOES THIS. NOT EVERYONE NEEDS A POWER DRIVEN WHEELCHAIR. DON'T YOU WANT YOUR TAXPAYER MONEY BEING SPENT WISELY BY MEDICARE?
Page 272 Section. 1145 – Treatment at certain CANCER HOSPITALS; rationing for cancer patients.
NO. THIS REFERS TO MEDICARE PAYMENTS TO CANCER HOSPITALS AND THE ATTEMPT BY GOVERNMENT TO KEEP COSTS UNDER CONTROL BY NOT OVERPAYING.
Page 280 Section 1151 - The Government will penalize hospitals for what Government deems preventable readmissions.
THIS REFERS TO MEDICARE AGAIN. AND YES, IF A HOSPITAL DUMPS A PATIENT OUT BEFORE THEY ARE READY TO LEAVE AND THEY HAVE TO COME BACK AND BE ADMITTED AGAIN, THE HOSPITAL SHOULD BE REPSONSIBLE FOR THAT. THIS IS ONLY FOR MEDICARE.
Page 298 Lines 9-11 Doctors, treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission and the Government will penalize the Dr.
THIS APPLIES TO MEDICARE ONLY. AND YES, THE DOCTOR WHO RELEASES THE PATIENT SHOULD ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE IF THE PATIENT HAS TO COME BACK.
Page 317 Lines 13-20 - PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government tells Doctors what/how much they can own.
NOT ALL OWNERSHIP. JUST SITUATIONS WHERE DOCTORS OWN THE MAJORITY OF A HOSPITAL OR LAB AND ONLY SEND THEIR PATIENTS TO THE PLACE THEY OWN, THUS INCREASING THEIR INCOME BUT NOT GIVING PATIENT ANY CHOICE.
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:27pm
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE ARE STILL AT LEAST FIFTEEN MORE WINGNUT LIES ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM
But, I hafta get going on my day, so you can find 'em here:
http://tinyurl.com/nxahut
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 12:30pm
Posted by BigPasture at 08/03/2009 @ 11:38am
Do you have anything new to add? Or once you come up with a post you just reuse it for several days? I just noticed the exact same post from yesterday on the 'Race, Lies, and Health Scares" post.
But as far as 1t more in debt a year, where are you getting that? Because everything I have read states that the 1t figure is over 10 years. So only a 100b a year. That is still a crapola. but not not as you have incorrectly stated twice now.
Also how do you rectify, the apparent contradiction in your comment? On one side you say not enough jobs are being saved. Then you complain about efforts to save jobs? Or do auto industry jobs not count?
Posted by Extraneous at 08/03/2009 @ 12:30pm
Posted by Extraneous at 08/03/2009 @ 12:30pm
His "sources" tell him it's a flat-out "trillion"...so he repeats it.
As you noted, that's $100 Billion a year...but to make it "sound good" they just concentrate on the "trillion" figure.
Something they cared little for doing when it's...the Iraq War!
Posted by Mask at 08/03/2009 @ 12:44pm
WINGNUT "PROTESTS" AGAINST HEALTHCARE REFORM: ORGANIZED BY LOBBYISTS.
"PR and lobbying firm organized harassment strategy they'll face in townmeetings back home this month:
This growing phenomenon is often marked by violence and absurdity. Recently, right-wing demonstrators hung Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) in effigy outside of his office. Missing from the reporting of these stories is the fact that much of these protests are coordinated by public relations firms and lobbyists who have a stake in opposing President Obama's reforms."
An African-American president backs healthcare reform, and lobbyists arrange a mock lynching. NICE.
No surprise that they have experience in arranging race-baiting "populist" events:
"The lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, which orchestrated the anti-Obama tea parties earlier this year, are now pursuing an aggressive strategy to create an image of mass public opposition to health care and clean energy reform. A leaked memo from Bob MacGuffie, a volunteer with the FreedomWorks website Tea Party Patriots, details how members should be infiltrating town halls and harassing Democratic members of Congress...."
http://tinyurl.com/n8wp5o
And their wingnut strategy is familiar -- lie, and disrupt the democratic process:
"While many Americans actually want to talk to their elected officials about important issues, like health care, during the Congressional recess, that's not the case for the right-wingers. A volunteer for the the right-wing group Freedom Works, who is also a teabaggers, distributed the three-part strategy: 1) Artificially Inflate Your Numbers; 2) Be Disruptive Early And Often; and 3) Try To "Rattle Him," Not Have An Intelligent Debate."
http://tinyurl.com/n8wp5o
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 1:03pm
IT'S THE INSURANCE AGENCIES, STUPID
"Finally. The Democrats seem to be coalescing around a message for health insurance reform. It's about taking on the insurance industry. It is, indeed: With the House already gone and the Senate set to clear out by Friday, the terms of the recess battle are becoming clear. Republicans will assail the government coverage plan that Democrats and President Obama are advocating as a recklessly expensive federal takeover of health care. And Democrats will counter that GOP opposition represents a de facto endorsement of insurance industry abuses.
"We know what we're up against," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) told reporters on Friday. "Carpet-bombing, slash and burn, shock and awe -- anything you want to say to describe what the insurance companies will do to hold on to their special advantage."
It always has been about the insurance industry. No one likes dealing with their insurance company. Insurance bureaucrats ration care. They jack up our rates. They deny coverage. They cut off coverage. I'm not exaggerating when I say that almost everyone I know has done some kind of battle with their health insurer."
http://tinyurl.com/lqqcz6
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 1:19pm
WITH WINGNUT LIES ABOUT "Killing Granny," Conservatives Aim to Kill Health Care
"Who knew that a living will was but the first step that would set us down the treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia? In a use any angle fear mongering campaign to derail the comprehensive US health care reform legislation now working its way through the Congress, conservatives are now pitching on right wing radio and on their blogs that living wills are the first step towards euthanasia. It is particularly offensive that this campaign is being targeted at seniors.
The Washington Post provides the background:
The controversy stems from a proposal to pay physicians who counsel elderly or terminally ill patients about what medical interventions they would prefer near the end of life and how to prepare instructions such as living wills. Under the plan, Medicare would reimburse doctors for one session every five years to confer with a patient about his or her wishes and how to ensure those preferences are followed. The counseling sessions would be voluntary.
But on right-leaning radio programs, religious e-mail lists and Internet blogs, the proposal has been described as "guiding you in how to die," "an ORDER from the Government to end your life," promoting "death care" and, in the words of antiabortion leader Randall Terry, an attempt to "kill Granny."
Though the counseling provision is a tiny part of a behemoth bill, the skirmish over end-of-life care, like arguments about abortion coverage, has become a distraction and provided an opening for opponents of the president's broader health-care agenda. "
READ MORE:
http://tinyurl.com/lju3kg
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 1:28pm
"ZOMG! Obama's numbers are falling! Except, of course, the GOP's are falling too. And everyone already hates them.
Only 28% view the GOP favorably, the lowest since at least 2005.
A huge majority wants major changes to the health care system, and a plurality says Obama is reforming health care at "the right pace." The public wants change now, meaning voters will probably extract a major price if it doesn't get done.
Voters blame Republicans, and not Obama, for obstructionism: Fifty nine percent say Obama is working with the GOP on health care reform, versus only 33% who say Republicans are working with the president.
Fifty five percent says Obama has the right ideas for health care reform, versus only 26% -- barely more than one-fourth -- who say the GOP does.
Democrats aren't looking so hot, given their inability to move aggressively on health care, but the Republicans are less popular than toxic sludge."
http://tinyurl.com/kwqgmp
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 2:11pm
Posted by Extraneous
Talk about clueless.
Posted by abell12ct at 08/03/2009 @ 2:45pm
Posted by abell12ct at 08/03/2009 @ 2:45pm
abell, just saying "Nuh-huh" isn't really "making your case".
Just a tip.
Posted by Mask at 08/03/2009 @ 3:09pm
"There's Absolutely Nothing Here That's Right"
"Kaiser Health News Service has started a new series, "Ad Audit," that scrutinizes propoganda in the health care reform fight. Lots of organizations and publications do this sort of thing. But Kaiser brings to the discussion almost unparalleled expertise in health care.
Today's subject is an ad called "Squeeze." Produced by an increasingly notorious organization called Conservatives for Patient's Rights, the ad claims that health reform will "squeeze" Americans with rising taxes, skyrocketing premiums, huge deficits, and lousy medical care.
And how accurate is it? Jenny Gold, Kaiser's correspondent, concludes:
Although CPR lists individual sources for each statement in the ad, the facts are largely taken out of context, come from biased industry groups or have been discredited. "There's absolutely nothing here that's right. It's unbelievable," says John Holahan, director of the Health Policy Research Center at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
Sadly, it's pretty typical of what we'll be seeing and hearing from the right over the next few weeks. "
http://tinyurl.com/m4wuf6
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 3:16pm
Health Insurers Spent $173 Million To Defeat Public Option, Affordability Measures
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/08/03/august-ahip/
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 3:19pm
BRITISH DOCTOR IN AMERICA CONTRASTS THE TWO SYSTEMS
In Jonathan Kaplan's book The Dressing Station (2001) one part concerns his coming from Britain to America in the late 1980s.
"Nonetheless, Dr. Kaplan was quite disconcerted by some of the differences between British and American medicine.
Working on another study, he reviewed hemorrhoid surgery results. He was startled to realize how much more surgery was done for minor piles in the U.S. than in Britain, though results were unimpressive – then "I found the payment invoices in each patient's folder. These were met by the health insurers, who paid out a lot more for an operation than injections. . . . The logic of a for-profit system appeared to lead to expensive solutions and spiraling costs."
...Still, he was thrilled about his promising research results on a heated balloon angioplasty device. Later, he was disillusioned to hear that after the device received FDA approval, the main competitor, a laser manufacturer, bought out the idea and shelved it to keep it off the market.
I thought his observations fit well with Dr. Poses' concern about insidious corruption in medicine and too many physicians who don't feel the expected fiduciary responsibility to patient welfare. As well, it makes Maggie Mahar's term of "money-driven medicine" seem – well – on the money."
http://tinyurl.com/kuzddf
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 3:55pm
HEALTHCARE MYTHS VS. FACTS:
Myth: Health care reform will provide health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Fact: No federal benefits go to those who are not legally in the United States.
House Bill: Page 143, Line 3, Section 246: "No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens. Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." [America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009]
Myth: A government-run plan will encourage seniors to choose an early death.
Fact: Counseling will be offered to seniors on a voluntary basis.
"Sec. 1233 of the bill, labeled ‘Advance Care Planning Consultation' details how the bill would, for the first time, require Medicare to cover the cost of end-of-life counseling sessions. According to the bill, 'such consultation shall include the following: An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to; an explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses; an explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.'" [PolitiFact.com, 7/16/09]
MYTH: The government-run plan will allow taxpayer funds to pay for abortions.
Fact: Private insurance companies decide whether or not to cover abortions and consumers can choose a plan in line with their own beliefs.
Abortion Is Not Mandated In The Reform Legislation. "Nothing in any of the current health care reform bills mandates abortion coverage – or any other type of medical procedure – in the Exchange...."
MORE:
http://tinyurl.com/nuz96n
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 4:39pm
I have not got the time to read all this stuff.
Thank you judybrowni, this Rio guy's lies are unbearable.
Posted by Frank42 at 08/03/2009 @ 4:56pm
Will Health-Care Reform Save Medical Innovation?
An Interview With Dr. Jerry Avorn.
Dr. Jerry Avorn is chief of the division of pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics at Brigham and Women's Hospital and author of the terrific Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs. A transcript of our conversation follows.
Question: You occasionally hear that a national health-care system would have a devastating impact on medical innovation -- and particularly on drug research. As the thinking goes, the system would save money, but in saving money, it would reduce profits for drug manufacturers, which would reduce the incentives for innovation. Is this worth worrying about?
There are a couple reasons that this is a specious argument. One is that according to their filings with the SEC, the drug companies only spend about 15 cents of every dollar on research and development. That's compared to more than 30 cents in administration and marketing and more than 20 cents on shareholder equity. As an investment in R&D, I think any venture capitalist would say a company spending 15 percent on research is not a robust innovation engine.
The second issue is that if one looks at the new pipeline of drugs that Pharma has been generating in recent years, it's been puny. Wall Street has noticed this as well. There have been 20 or fewer drugs approved by FDA in recent years, which is lower than in past periods. It's sort of an open secret that innovation isn't working that efficiently. "
MORE: http://tinyurl.com/l323pn
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 5:48pm
"Sen. Arlen Specter, who faced an antagonistic crowd at a weekend healthcare town hall, says the experience could be a sign of the tough road for overhauling the nation's system.
The crowd booed, jeered and sometimes cheered Specter and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at a packed meeting with hundreds of people at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Specter says he thinks political organizations orchestrated some of the commotion, but that individuals with serious concerns were also there.
He says August is shaping up to be a battleground month for healthcare, and it's likely other members could face similar crowds as they travel over the monthlong congressional recess."
The Obamanation that makes desolation and the Demoncrats better bend over and kiss themselves goodbye for 2010 and 2012! People have had enough of the LIEING ,self dealings to supporters only ,and their doing NOTHING about the economy and jobs. Much less spending another trillion dollars a year on the healthcare POWER grabfest!
Posted by BigPasture at 08/03/2009 @ 9:25pm
Neocon capitalism:
"The salary and bonus paid to Cleve L. Killingsworth, chairman and chief executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, increased 26 percent last year, to $3.5 million, even though the health insurer's membership declined and its net income fell 49 percent."
That's what Rush calls "Magic!"
Posted by winyahn at 08/03/2009 @ 10:21pm
Posted by winyahn at 08/03/2009 @ 10:21pm | ignore this person | warn this person
At least you admit the health insurance companies except United which the Obamanation that makes desolation and the Demoncrats use as an example is the only one making a profit this year! They conveniently OVERLOOK that in their attackdog mantras!
Posted by BigPasture at 08/03/2009 @ 10:46pm
Someone doesn't read the news:
WINGNUT "PROTESTS" AGAINST HEALTHCARE REFORM: ORGANIZED BY LOBBYISTS.
"PR and lobbying firm organized harassment strategy they'll face in townmeetings back home this month:
This growing phenomenon is often marked by violence and absurdity. Recently, right-wing demonstrators hung Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) in effigy outside of his office. Missing from the reporting of these stories is the fact that much of these protests are coordinated by public relations firms and lobbyists who have a stake in opposing President Obama's reforms."
An African-American president backs healthcare reform, and lobbyists arrange a mock lynching. NICE.
No surprise that they have experience in arranging race-baiting "populist" events:
"The lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, which orchestrated the anti-Obama tea parties earlier this year, are now pursuing an aggressive strategy to create an image of mass public opposition to health care and clean energy reform. A leaked memo from Bob MacGuffie, a volunteer with the FreedomWorks website Tea Party Patriots, details how members should be infiltrating town halls and harassing Democratic members of Congress...."
http://tinyurl.com/n8wp5o
And their wingnut strategy is familiar -- lie, and disrupt the democratic process:
"While many Americans actually want to talk to their elected officials about important issues, like health care, during the Congressional recess, that's not the case for the right-wingers. A volunteer for the the right-wing group Freedom Works, who is also a teabaggers, distributed the three-part strategy: 1) Artificially Inflate Your Numbers; 2) Be Disruptive Early And Often; and 3) Try To "Rattle Him," Not Have An Intelligent Debate."
h
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 10:57pm
Wonder just how much judibrownimaker is paid to SPAM DNC lies?
"In a recent speech to the American Medical Association, President Obama himself acknowledged that Medicare's looming unfunded liability will "swamp our federal and state budgets and impose a vicious choice of either unprecedented tax hikes, overwhelming deficits, or drastic cuts in our federal and state budgets." Indeed, during the 2008 presidential campaign, candidate Obama criticized the idea of using money saved from making cuts in Medicare "to pay for an ill-conceived health-care plan, even as Medicare already faces a looming shortfall."
It seems that the politics of health care -- and the fact that the president's reform plan is fiscally unsustainable -- have led him to drastically change his views on the matter.
The denial of care options to retirees is not a paranoid fantasy of opponents of reform. President Obama contends that our society spends too much on medical care -- and promises that his reforms will correct that imbalance. Scaling back Medicare, which the president acknowledges as one of the major sources of the budget deficit, will necessitate denying options to retirees. This happens already in the United Kingdom, where older citizens are denied certain treatments as a matter of policy, because government bureaucrats have calculated that an extra year of life, adjusted for "quality," is not worth the cost of the treatment. Given the language in the Democrats' current health-care bill, the U.S. now faces the truly frightening prospect of the government dictating end-of-life decisions.
Posted by BigPasture at 08/03/2009 @ 11:16pm
We can achieve incremental change in our health-care system without a government takeover. The fact is, using Medicare as a piggy bank which can be raided to fill the deepening deficits that will result from such a takeover -- and calling that reform -- is wrong, economically and morally. A reform of our health-care system is needed, but not one that puts us into bankruptcy and rations care to our seniors."
Posted by BigPasture at 08/03/2009 @ 11:17pm
A Coincidence or What? Republicans Lie About Healthcare, Their Poll Numbers Plummet:
"37
That's the number of states that are either solidly or leaning Democratic in a series of Gallup tracking polls conducted over the first six months of 2009. Only eight states are solidly or leaning Republicans in that same data.
The numbers, which are based on party identification of adults in national tracking polls, paint a stark portrait of the challenge facing Republicans not just in the 2010 midterm election but also in the 2012 presidential race.
The Republicans currently have an edge in just 5 states, Alaska, Alabama, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Since the last Gallup poll in 2008 measuring voter ID by state, 9 states have changed classification from one category to another. Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, South Dakota and Nebraska moved from the Republican category to the Democrat, Colorado, Nevada and Alabama moved toward the Republicans.
To put this in starker terms. Add up all the states which strongly identify as Republican and you have a total of 15 electoral votes. Do the same for the Democrats and you have a total of 350 electoral votes. Not a typo - 15 electoral votes for the Republicans and 350 for the Dems.
Declining poll numbers are transitory but voter ID tends to be more static. This poll is a stark reminder of the problems Republicans face in moving from their status as a regionally-based party into one with national appeal. Remember this when you hear the pundits breathlessly predicting a "Republican comeback." It's going to be hard to stage a comeback when you've only got a majority of voters in five states."
http://tinyurl.com/m6z2vu
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 11:22pm
What's so great about private health insurance?
The bloody battle in Congress over a 'public option' ignores the insurers' role in creating the nation's healthcare crisis and their efforts to throttle reform.
So it's proper to remind ourselves what that American way entails. For if the insurers have proved anything over the last 15 years as the health crisis has gathered speed like alike an avalanche roaring downhill, it's that they're part of the problem, not the solution.
The firms take billions of dollars out of the U.S. healthcare wallet as profits, while imposing enormous administrative costs on doctors, hospitals, employers and patients. They've introduced complexity into the system at every level. Your doctor has to fight them to get approval for the treatment he or she thinks is best for you. Your hospital has to fight them for approval for every day you're laid up. Then they have to fight them to get their bills paid, and you do too.
The two largest insurers, WellPoint and UnitedHealth Group, each acquired 11 other insurers between 2000 and 2007. They now control a total of 67 million "covered lives" (that's customers in health insurance-speak).
This consolidation has produced functional monopolies in communities across America. The American Medical Assn. (itself no great fan of reform) found in a 2007 survey that in 76% of the country, defined as its major metropolitan statistical areas, one insurer had a share of 50% or more of the conventional insurance market. This phenomenon gives the companies enormous power to drive up premiums and maximize profits.
MORE:
http://tinyurl.com/nkkbap
Posted by judybrowni at 08/03/2009 @ 11:38pm
Judibrownimaker paid DNC SPAMMER missed this one!
Would the NYT ever tell us this?
From The Telegraph (of U.K.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews /5955840/Patients-forced-to-live-in-agony-after- NHS-refuses-to-pay-for-painkilling-injections.html
Patients forced to live in agony after NHS refuses to pay for painkilling injections
Tens of thousands with chronic back pain will be forced to live in agony after a decision to slash the number of painkilling injections issued on the NHS, doctors have warned.
By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent
Published: 7:45AM BST 02 Aug 2009
The Government's drug rationing watchdog says "therapeutic" injections of steroids, such as cortisone, which are used to reduce inflammation, should no longer be offered to patients suffering from persistent lower back pain when the cause is not known.
Instead the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is ordering doctors to offer patients remedies like acupuncture and osteopathy.
Specialists fear tens of thousands of people, mainly the elderly and frail, will be left to suffer excruciating levels of pain or pay as much as £500 each for private treatment.
The NHS currently issues more than 60,000 treatments of steroid injections every year. NICE said in its guidance it wants to cut this to just 3,000 treatments a year, a move which would save the NHS £33 million....
Related Articles
* Cancer doctors do not tell patients about drugs which could prolong lives * How to avoid the NHS 'top-up' payment trap * Tens of thousands of cancer victims denied drugs which could extend their lives
Posted by Happy at 08/03/2009 @ 11:32pm | ignore this person | warn this person
This is what Obamanation and Demoncrats want for us!
Posted by BigPasture at 08/04/2009 @ 12:03am
HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES DENY PAIN MEDICATIONS
Healthy African American Families, Familia Unida and For Grace to Call for Official Look Into Insurance Company Practices that Deny California Communities Access to Pain Medications
http://tinyurl.com/lsh8jg
Mega life Beach street united health care Complaints - fraud Nov 14, 2008 ... The Mega Life Insurance Company had again denied all future rehab and pain management.
http://tinyurl.com/nqrjsz
Health Insurance Policies and Reimbursement for Cancer Pain Care. Major contributors to inadequate cancer pain control include insufficient health insurance ...
http://tinyurl.com/kvb636
Blue Cross Denies Back Surgery For RN Sep 9, 2008 ... Blue Cross Denies Back Surgery For RN. Main Category: Back Pain Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance ...
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120801.php
Surviving the Chronic Pain Experience: Successfully ... Understand the many insurance deny and delay tactics to look out for and how to respond ... www.amazon.com/Surviving-Chronic-Pain.../0972664416
Pain management and provider liability: No more excuses
The health-care system's failure to respond to patient pain needs ... pain as a result...lack of insurance coverage may deny patients
www.allbusiness.com/legal/3586779-1.html
Pain Management: Health Plans Need to Take Control
inadequate insurance coverage as a barrier to adequate pain treatment, ... been denied payment of, or approval for, pain management interventions ...
http://tinyurl.com/m36re5
Posted by judybrowni at 08/04/2009 @ 01:46am
HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES ROUTINELY DENY PAIN MEDICATION TO MILLIONS OF AMERICANS:
Dr.Joel R. Saper, director of the Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor: "Millions of patients are denied access to experts and advanced treatments that could alter their lives" because insurance companies often refuse to cover these services, he said.
"Insurance companies are brutal on pain patients because pain can't be proven," so they claim the treatments are unnecessary and deny coverage, Saper told United Press International. "I spend almost every day of my life fighting insurance companies," he said."
http://tinyurl.com/m7cohr
Posted by judybrowni at 08/04/2009 @ 01:55am
Tea Baggers FAIL to disrupt Health Care meeting, lessons shared.
The Democratic Alliance of Northwest Indiana (DANI ) hosted a meeting with Rep. Pete Visclosky (D, IN-01), on Monday, Aug. 3, 6:30 PM. We invited the public and their written questions. It seems good to share with the Daily Kos readership some lessons we learned.
Bottom line: • We had an orderly and productive meeting. • No one stood up, shouted out and sat down. • At no point was our Congressman or audience rattled. • DANI accomplished its objective. We provided the public an opportunity to question our Congressman about Health Care and Clean Energy. • Tea Baggers came out in force, but they failed to disrupt the meeting. • Local reporters attended.
Lessons learned follow below:
http://tinyurl.com/l3qckr
Posted by judybrowni at 08/04/2009 @ 02:10am
What The Other Side is Really Saying About Healthcare Reform....
When they say America has the best healthcare system in the world , they really mean America has the most expensive health care system in the world . We spend 15% of our GNP or over $5000/person/year (twice as much as any western European country) for a health care system that ranks at the bottom of list of industrialized nations when it comes to such health indicators as life expectancy and infant mortality. That means a lot of drug companies, health insurers, hospitals, specialists and medical goods manufacturers are getting rich for keeping us sick.
When they say Under healthcare reform, Americans will have to wait , they really mean The makers of medical equipment like artificial hips and knees want to see their product in every senior in this country--even the ones too sick or mentally compromised to walk. The people who make and sell these devices think nothing of selling the dream that grandma, who is paralyzed from a stroke, might walk again if she just had a new set of joints. They will put her through the risk of unnecessary surgery which can lead to complications like pain, blood clots, infections and death, in order to line their pockets.
When they say Healthcare reform will bankrupt America what they mean is Healthcare reform will cut our healthcare spending in half by giving us access to preventive care early in life---which will bankrupt the medical industrial complex.
When they say Government administered insurance is bad what they mean is Why have an organization collect your insurance premiums and make payments to medical providers for free, when we will do it with a hefty mark up? Profit is always better.
MORE:
http://tinyurl.com/m52pmy
Posted by judybrowni at 08/04/2009 @ 03:34am
"This is what Obamanation and Demoncrats want for us!"----Posted by BigPasture at 08/04/2009 @ 12:03am
Imagine how nutty RIO's going to get this fall....when a health care reform bill passes.
Posted by Mask at 08/04/2009 @ 08:52am